Symposium 2010: What is your outlook for the 2012 presidential election? Any frontrunners in the Republican party?

I’ve always been a big supporter of Newt Gingrich. He’s probably the most articulate Republican in the field. He’s a great scholar, and he’s the only candidate that can say I balanced the budget of the United States when I was Speaker of the House. He’s got some great ideas, and he tells it like it is. I also like Herman Cain. He’s a successful businessman with a great personal story. I do think we need a businessman in the White House. I’d love for Donald Trump to run; I think a debate between him and President Obama would be outstanding.

The election is a long time away. We don’t know who all the candidates are for the Republicans at this point. Someone might come out of the woodwork and really wow the party. I like to think that a good Republican candidate does have an advantage in the 2012 presidential election. They can pretty easily tear down the President’s record and shatter his illusion of an agenda of “change.” The people who have become unemployed while he’s been in office are probably disillusioned by what has happened, so I’m not sure why they would support the same failed policies again.

But, you know, a lot can happen between now and election day 2012, so I think it’s premature to make any calls. I’ll simply leave it that I think the Republicans need to put up a good, strong ticket for the presidential election. If they do that, they have a pretty good chance of taking the White House and the Congress in 2012.

John Adams

"Be not intimidated, therefore, by any terrors, from publishing with the utmost freedom whatever can be warranted by the laws of your country, nor suffer yourselves to be wheedled out of your liberty by any pretenses of politeness, delicacy, or decency. These, as they are often used, are but three different names for hypocrisy, chicanery, and cowardice."